Applicant Enrollment Survey
2001 Applicant-Enrollment Survey
The ASAHP 2001 Applicant-Enrollment Survey has been completed. For 2001, the number of participating ASAHP member schools rose by 11 over the 2000 survey, from 46 to 57-an increase of 23.9%. Importantly, the number of programs reported by the participating schools rose by 88, from 264 in 2000 to 352 in 2001-an increase of 33.3%. In both years of the survey, participants could report on a total of 20 different allied disciplines plus nursing. In 2000, data were submitted for all of these except respiratory therapy technician; data for two programs in this discipline were submitted in the 2001 survey just completed.The survey seeks to provide information about applicant pools, the number of students actually admitted, and the programs’ enrollment capacities. Of course, the most pressing question is, “Are applicant pools rising or falling in the disciplines represented at ASAHP member institutions.” Examining 2001 data for “all institutions” on the median number of applicants per program for 2000-2001 vs. 2001-2002 by discipline reveals that of the 21 disciplines surveyed, five reported increases in applicants (athletic training, cytotechnology, medical technology, radiation therapy technology, and respiratory therapy technician), two reported no changes in the median number of applicants per program (nuclear medicine technology and radiography), and the remaining 14 reported decreases. Further, using what may be a statistically suspect but nonetheless interesting calculation, the cumulative data indicate the five disciplines reporting increases had an average increase in the median number of applicants per program for 2001 over 2000 of 16.7%, while the 14 reporting decreases had an average decrease of 25.9%.These results vary according to institutional grouping, so again the reader is encouraged to examine the full results and conduct those analyses most appropriate for his or her setting or interests.
In the meantime, the results of the two applicant-enrollment surveys already in hand allow the plotting of these data to help determine when and if true trends are developing, and if so, where, how, and perhaps even why.